Monte Cassino Polish war cemetery

The cemetery is located on the slopes of what was designated as Point 445 and the abbey on the mountain of Monte Cassino. The majority of the soldiers buried here are from the Polish 2nd Army Corps of Lieutenant General Władysław Anders. Soldiers from this corps repeatedly attacked the German defenders inside the monastery at Monte Cassino during May 1944. On the morning of 18 May 1944, Polish forces finally entered the ruins of the abbey and hoisted the Polish flag. The first interments in the cemetery occurred in 1944 and the cemetery was completed in 1946 based on designs by Wacław Hryniewicz and Jerzy Skolimowski. The official consecration of the site took place on September 1, 1945. ==Inscriptions==

The Polish memorial at Monte Cassino bears two inscriptions. The first, based on the Epitaph of Simonides, reads: ::Passer-by, go tell Poland ::That we have perished obedient to her service The other on a gatepost near the entrance translates from Polish: ::For our freedom and yours ::We soldiers of Poland gave ::Our soul to God ::Our life to the soil of Italy ::Our hearts to Poland An anthem, "The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino" — composed on the eve of the Polish storming of the German stronghold — memorializes the Polish soldiers who gave their lives. The refrain is familiar to most Poles: ::The red poppies on Monte Cassino ::Drank Polish blood instead of dew... ::O'er the poppies the soldiers did go ::'Mid death, and to their anger stayed true! ::Years will come and ages will go, ::Enshrining their strivings and their toil!... ::And the poppies on Monte Cassino ::Will be redder for Poles' blood in their soil. ==Gallery==

Image:Anders gravestone at Monte Cassino.jpg|Gravestone of Lieutenant General Władysław Anders at Monte Cassino Image:Orthodox and catholic gravestones at Monte Cassino.JPG|Orthodox (front) and Catholic (rear) gravestones at Monte Cassino Image:Jewish gravestone at Monte Cassino.JPG|Jewish gravestone at Monte Cassino image:ABRAHAM WURZEL MONTE CASSINO.jpg|Another Jewish gravestone Image:View of Monte Cassino monastery from Polish cemetery.jpg|View of Monte Cassino monastery from the Polish cemetery Image:Polish cemetery seen from Monte Cassino monastery.jpg|The Polish cemetery seen from Monte Cassino monastery Image:Plaque_at_Polish_cemetery_in_Monte_Cassino.jpg|Plaque at the Polish cemetery ==See also==